Digital set-top boxes and digital video receivers (collectively referred to as digital video receivers) are devices for receiving video signals from a content delivery network. A DVR receives and processes the video signal from the content delivery network for display on a display device, such as a television set or other display device. The DVR may comprise a stand-alone device that interfaces with the display device, or the functionality of the DVR may be integrated with the display device. There are DVRs that support reception of radio frequency (RF) video signals provided by terrestrial (i.e., over-the-air), cable, and satellite systems. The RF video signal may comprise an analog/RF video signal or a modulated digital signal (e.g., a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)/RF video signal).
While any user content may be delivered to the DVR (e.g., video, audio, data, or any combination thereof), these systems are typically used to deliver video and associated audio to the DVR via transport streams. For example, one format for broadcasting digital content to the DVR is the MPEG-2 standard. The MPEG-2 standard is an international standard for the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information, defined by the Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG). The specifications for the MPEG-2 standard (ISO/IEC 13818) are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. In general, the MPEG-2 standard specifies the format of movies and other programs that are distributed on physical media, such as digital video discs (DVD) and similar discs, or provided via content delivery networks.
A typical content delivery network supports a wide range of content provided to the DVR as channels. To enable users to select among the various available channels and facilitate the tuning of the DVR to the selected channel, the DVR and the content delivery network support a mechanism for specifying information about the channels. For example, users typically access analog or digital RF channels through the DVR via a user interface by selecting a virtual channel number (VCN). The DVR uses the user-selected VCN to perform internal look-ups in tables based on a virtual channel table (VCT) or a virtual channel map (VCM) provided by the content delivery network. The DVR stores the necessary data for performing the VCN look-up in a virtual channel map (VCM). The VCM contains references for the VCNs (which are known by the user via the user interface) and information necessary to access the RF channels. For analog RF channels this information may comprise a center tuning frequency, and for digital RF channels this information may comprise the VCN, center frequency, digital carrier format (e.g., 64-QAM or 256-QAM) and an MPEG Program Number.
While any suitable provisioning or look-up mechanism may be implemented in such systems, the Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) has evolved as a standard for facilitating the tuning of programs by specifying information at the system and event levels for all virtual channels carried in a particular transport stream. The PSIP standard defined by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) in “ATSC Standard: Program and System Information Protocol for Terrestrial Broadcast and Cable,” ATSC Document A/65 (and all prior versions), are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Other standard and proprietary protocols perform similar functionality to PSIP.
In general, the PSIP standard and other similar protocols comprise a collection of data tables defined by the content delivery network and provided to the DVR. The data tables contain information to enable appropriately-configured DVRs to find the components needed to present a program or event. One or more tables may comprise information about the channels and information related to the programs on each channel. For example, a virtual channel map (VCM) provides various attributes for all virtual channels in a transport stream. The VCM contains a list of channels in the transport stream, as well as other information about the channels and related programs. Because channels and programs change over time, the parameters contained in the VCM must be accurately maintained, in real-time or near-real-time, to enable the DVR to access the actual connection path.
There are also DVR devices that are configured to support video over IP or IP television (IPTV). IPTV is a system in which a digital television service is delivered by using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. In general, IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the user through the technologies used for computer networks.
As a service to end users, IPTV is provided as a separate service than RF-based services. IPTV is provided in connection with Internet-based services, such as, for example, video-on-demand services, web access, and voice over IP (VoIP) services. IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure, which is similar to the closed business model of RF-based delivery systems. The closed network approach adopted by current RF and IP-based systems has been and continues to be in direct competition with open business models that deliver content over the public Internet.
Therefore, there is a need for improved systems, methods, and computer software for integrating RF and IP virtual channels for an integrated RF/IP DVR.